you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[+] -46 points 1 week ago (55 children)
  • [–] 65 points 1 week ago (17 children)

    People who have never experienced democracy and have only been fed lies by their authoritarian government think their country is democratic and equal. Shocker.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 17 child comments
  • [–] 44 points 1 week ago (7 children)

    One can say the same about the US... Just saying.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
  • [–] a comment that isn't shown here: deleted, from someone you've blocked, or on another page. view the thread from it
  • [–] 29 points 1 week ago

    To some extent... But in the USA until recently people never had reason to fear speaking out against their government.

    Which people? The FBI killed Black Panther organizer Fred Hampton in his bed, back in the 60s.

    The Red Scare was a decade before that.

    And the back in the 1930s, The Bonus Army, a movement of World War 1 veterans demanding payment for their service from the government, was violently crushed by the united States military.

  • source
  • parent
  • load more comments (2 replies)
  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    There's also been a certain "Soviet democracy", the democracy perception of which in the polls would be sky high especially under dear Stalin and Voroshilov leading it with iron hand, and less when dissent stopped getting you executed.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

    Same thing with China. Dissent gets punished brutally. Young protesters are dying in camps in the thousands. The Chinese government just doesn‘t let the tanks roll in anymore. Instead they utilize mass surveillance to track down each and every protester and deport them from home. Tiananmen square massacres are happening every day behind closed doors. That‘s why the public thinks it‘s a democracy despite one party controlling everything openly, down to who may run against them in local elections. Or they‘re too afraid to say otherwise.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    And then one can think one step further and realize that western nations are not very far from similarly detecting dissenters before they do anything useful, and they don't need camps, just subtly directing them in life onto paths not harmful to the establishment and unlikely to bring offspring. Big data and social media magic.

  • source
  • parent
  • [+] -9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    So then why did Russians in the same study claim abysmal democracy? Aren't they afraid of the KGB?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 child)

    The Russian psyche is one of pessimistic resignation. Its also true that Russia has never experienced free democracy. There are many who believe the fall of the USSR was a terrible thing and they blame “democracy” for their current circumstances. This is part of why Putin gets away with authoritarianism.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 18 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    So people in a nation where disagreeing with leadership is punished all agree with leadership. Interesting...

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 21 points 1 week ago* (3 children)

    Using personal opinion of crowds is notoriously very bad and people are easily misguided. ALL this says is the Chinese BELIEVE they're democratic and all equal. Not that they actually are.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 14 points 1 week ago*

    You're right, and I see that opinion poll as a indicator of the direction that America has been going: a place where many people think they are in a democracy, while actually living in a country that is more authoritarian than it was in the past.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago

    Also, westerners like myself tend to complain about trump/etc without acknowledging the continuum of raising fascism. We should focus on the lies we have been fed, it's not easy, nor late ;)

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 32 points 1 week ago (11 children)

    I'm sure you'll get similar results if you ask people in North Korea.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [–] a comment that isn't shown here: deleted, from someone you've blocked, or on another page. view the thread from it
  • [–] 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

    That disagreement with the government is not popular there.

    Edit: don't know why I'm getting downvoted, I'm confident that that was the point, you're shooting the messenger lol

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] a comment that isn't shown here: deleted, from someone you've blocked, or on another page. view the thread from it
  • [–] 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Because the government disappears dissenters.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago* (2 children)

    So then why in the same study do we see abysmal ratings for other authoritian dictatorships? Iraq, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, Russia, etc... If your point is that civilians in authoritarian regimes are coerced to show support in these types of polls, the results prove that notion wrong.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    Does this study address the difference in circumstances? I can see for example China having the resources to maintain total surveillance abd strong censorship (especially on the internet) vs a developing country in Africa which may affect polling

  • source
  • parent
  • load more comments (1 reply)
  • [–] 12 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    It's really funny to me seeing someone using a chart showcasing oppressive authoritarianism a gotcha against an accusation of oppressive authoritarianism.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 25 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

    Your belief that China is an authoritarian oppressive regime seems to be unfalsifiable. If approval ratings are high it's because the people are being silenced and secretly hate their government. If approval is low it's because they hate their government. If the approval ratings are real then they've been brainwashed by nationalism.

    Like everything indicates the approval ratings are real, there were studies conducted by Western universities that didn't have stake in the matter and most Chinese citizens had a positive opinion of the PRC. There's no way to fake this kind of stuff as well as you're describing for decades.

    There are various reasons for why I can understand Chinese citizens like China. They're entering the golden age of their economy right now and legitimately have competitive quality of life when compared to Americans. Their country is becoming a superpower and that could be a source of national pride for some Chinese citizens. I think those reasons can explain the results without adding in coercion.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago* (1 child)

    Your belief that China is an authoritarian oppressive regime is unfalsifiable.

    you are taking a logical leap here. it's more accurate to say my belief that China is an authoritarian oppressive regime is not falsifiable by a public opinion poll. there are plenty other options that may falsify it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • load more comments (1 reply)
  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    I mean... Can Chinese people vote out the current party and pick something else?

    Yes? No? No. How the fuck is it a democracy then.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 8 points 1 week ago

    Given the exponentially oversized influence that rich capitalists have on politics everywhere that is not socialist, it is evidently more democratic to not allow them to participate in politics at all.

    You know, governance of the people, by the people, and all that.

  • source
  • parent
  • load more comments (1 reply)
  • [–] 4 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    get outta here with your facts.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 0 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    What fact do you believe is presented in this image?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

    the image shows perception of democracy is much higher in china than other countries generally considered to be developed democracies by western discourse. i thought this was self-evident.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • load more comments (1 reply)
  • [–] -4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 child)

    These are great proof of China's superiority! Until you see the Chinese questionnaires:

    Choose an option:
    [ ] My government serves the people
    [ ] I want my social credit score to take a nosedive. No more bank loans, government permits, study or career opportunities for me, please!

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment